Ordinary computer systems and networked computers are often provided with technical support for application problems, network problems and so on by means of remotely located technical support specialists. Typically a remotely located Help Desk specialist may be contacted by phone, e-mail, intranet or the Internet etc. to assist with a problem of a computerised system. Certain software applications familiar to those skilled in the art of Local Area Networks (LANs) are readily available so that a technical specialist at a remotely located Help Desk may look at a display running on the problematic computer system and input selections or commands as though the specialist were present in person. However, such specialists are only be able to assist with problems related to a specific LAN. In addition, applications sometimes called “remote control” software such as PC anywhere (TM Symantec) may effectively copy and transmit screen images and keyboard inputs from a remote user, however this can also place high demands on communication bandwidth and processing power.
The security of remote connections is a challenging issue. One method to enable secure sharing between different machines has been the use of Virtual Private Networks, VPNs. However, for many organisations these have proved to be rather complex for ordinary pc users to configure and set up. VPNs have also required a considerable communication bandwidth to accommodate functions such additional layers required for security, as well as the data or payload elements. Such heavy requirements on bandwidth, and also on processing power, make such applications unsuitable for smaller or portable computing devices with reduced display, memory and processing capabilities that are available to users in an industrial installation.